The largest patent damages verdicts of 2024 all amounted to nine figures, largely in line with recent years, with the largest award of $847 million being set aside by a judge weeks after the verdict, reflecting the scrutiny given to sizable damages, attorneys say.
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2024 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Analysis

The Top Patent Damages Awards Of 2024

By Ryan Davis

The largest patent damages verdicts of 2024 all amounted to nine figures, largely in line with recent years, with the largest award of $847 million being set aside by a judge weeks after the verdict, reflecting the scrutiny given to sizable damages, attorneys say.

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Teradata Antitrust, IP Suit Revived Against German Co.

By Theresa Schliep

A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday revived data analytics company Teradata Corp.'s antitrust and trade secret suit against German software company SAP, saying a lower court rejected the case despite there being factual disputes over key issues concerning market effects and confidential information. 

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$18M TransUnion Loss 'Riddled With Defects,' 6th Circ. Says

By Carolyn Muyskens

The Sixth Circuit said Wednesday that a jury's $18.3 million award in a dustup over intellectual property related to an online insurance quote marketplace was based on damages evidence that was sorely lacking, affirming that TransUnion is off the hook.

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Fed. Circ. OKs $95M Altria Vape Patent Win Against Reynolds

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit on Thursday upheld a $95.2 million jury verdict against R.J. Reynolds for infringing Altria vape patents, rejecting Reynolds' arguments that the finding was not supported by the evidence and was based on expert damages testimony that was unreliable.

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Fed. Circ. Seeks Denial Of Newman Bid To Unseal Documents

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit judges asked the D.C. Circuit on Thursday to reject U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's request to unseal documents about her suspension for refusing to participate in an investigation into her fitness, saying they are of "questionable relevance" and will be released soon anyway.

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Music Publishers Will Likely See AI Copyright Case Cut Back

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge said Thursday she was inclined to toss a portion of a copyright suit from music publishers claiming their song lyrics were ripped off to train artificial intelligence company Anthropic's chatbot, saying some allegations were "so general" while adding that she'd give leave to amend.

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VLSI Says PQA's Disclosure Fears Are Its Own Fault

By Dani Kass

VLSI Technology LLC urged a Virginia federal judge Thursday to make Patent Quality Assurance LLC's ownership disclosure public, saying the company actively chose to remove the litigation to a forum where it knew those disclosures were required.

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Arm-Qualcomm Trademark, Breach Suit Goes To Jury In Del.

By Jeff Montgomery

Jurors headed to deliberations late Thursday after nearly four days of trial in Delaware federal court on Softbank Group subsidiary Arm Ltd.'s claims that Qualcomm Inc. and Nuvia Inc. breached a protective contract for microprocessor core technology licensing agreements.

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PATENTS

Fresenius Loses Invalidity Argument In Nausea Drug IP Fight

By Adam Lidgett

Fresenius Kabi USA LLC has lost its arguments in Delaware federal court that claims in a pair of Heron Therapeutics patents for a nausea drug were invalid, keeping Fresenius' generic from entering the market for around a decade.

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Judge Wrongly Axed $107M IP Verdict, Pfizer Tells Fed. Circ.

By Adam Lidgett

A Pfizer unit has told the Federal Circuit that a federal judge got it wrong when he overturned a Delaware jury verdict that AstraZeneca owes $107.5 million for infringing two cancer drug patents.

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Brief

Patent Office, NASA To Work On Tech Transfer Project

By Adam Lidgett

Federal patent officials plan to work with experts at NASA to bring more of the agency's innovation to the commercial marketplace, which will include collaborating on a study on best practices, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has announced.

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COPYRIGHTS & TRADEMARKS

2nd Circ. Affirms PepsiCo Win In TM Fight Over Energy Drink

By Ivan Moreno

The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a trademark suit against PepsiCo, saying in a summary order that the beverage company's "Mtn Dew Rise Energy" did not infringe the mark of nitro-brewed canned coffee drinks called "Rise."

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E.l.f. Mascara Doesn't Confuse Consumers, Judge Rules

By Andrew Karpan

A San Francisco federal judge has said showing that the e.l.f. cosmetics brand had an "intent to create a dupe" of a mascara tube made by its Louis Vuitton-owned rival is not enough to prove that it actually "dupes any consumers."

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TRADE SECRETS

Brief

$1.2B Sought From Phillips 66 After $605M Trade Secrets Win

By Ivan Moreno

A retailer of low-carbon fuels has asked a California state court to add $1.2 billion to a $604.9 million trade secrets verdict against Phillips 66, arguing that the jury's conclusion that Phillips 66's misappropriation of confidential information was willful and malicious merits exemplary damages.

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Brief

Labcorp Settles Competition Suit Against Ex-Sales Exec

By George Woolston

Less than two weeks after Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings sued its former sales marketing executive and his new employer in North Carolina federal court for allegedly violating noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements, a deal has been reached to end the lawsuit.

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PEOPLE

Foley Adds Tech, Life Sciences Partner From IP Boutique

By Rachel Scharf

Foley & Lardner LLP has hired a longtime partner from intellectual property boutique Lerner David LLP to strengthen both the transactional and litigation arms of its technology and life science practices in New York.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

4 Trade Secret Pointers From 2024's Key IP Law Developments

Four significant 2024 developments in trade secret law yield practical tips about defending trade secrets overseas, proving unjust enrichment claims, forcing compliance with posttrial orders and using restrictive covenants to prevent employee leaks of confidential intellectual property, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

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Trends In Section 101 Motions 6 Years After Berkheimer

A half-dozen years after the Federal Circuit's landmark patent eligibility ruling in Berkheimer, empirical data offers practitioners some noteworthy insights on Section 101 motions, both nationally and across four exemplary jurisdictions, says Alexa Reed at Fisch Sigler.

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2024's Most Notable FTC Actions Against Dark Patterns And AI

In 2024 the Federal Trade Commission ramped up enforcement actions related to dark patterns, loudly signaling its concern that advertisers will use AI to manipulate consumer habits and its intention to curb businesses' use and marketing of AI to prevent alleged consumer deception, say attorneys at Goodwin.

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Opinion

1 Year After Rule 702 Changes, Courts Have Made Progress

In the year since amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence went into effect, many federal judges have applied the new expert witness standard correctly, excluding unreliable testimony from their courts — but now state courts need to update their own rules accordingly, says Lee Mickus at Evans Fears.

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Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

MoFo, Irell Latest Firms To Unveil Competitive Bonuses

By Aebra Coe & Hailey Konnath

Morrison Foerster LLP and litigation boutique Irell & Manella LLP have joined a chorus of firms announcing associate bonuses that meet or exceed the BigLaw standard for associate bonuses this year, with MoFo offering up to $218,200 and Irell handing its lawyers as much as $175,000.

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Podcast

Approach The Bench: What Judges Had To Say This Year

By Cara Bayles

Jurists weighed the benefits of partisan elections, praised innovations in telehearings and worried about the future of the profession in nearly a dozen interviews with Law360 this year.

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Gunster $8.5M Data Breach Deal Needs More Info, Judge Says

By Matt Perez

A Florida federal judge this week denied preliminary approval of an $8.5 million settlement in a data breach class action against Gunster and demanded more information on payouts, the plaintiffs' standing in the case and a historical breakdown of settlement rates.

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NJ Bar's Diversity Plan Isn't Biased, Panel Says

By Tracey Read

A New Jersey state appeals court reversed and remanded on Friday a lower court's ruling that found the state bar association's diversity practices to be an unlawful, discriminatory quota system.

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If Gov't Shuts Down, Judiciary Will Be Funded Until Jan. 10

By Courtney Bublé

If there is a government shutdown, the federal judiciary would be funded at least until Jan. 10, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Friday.

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Analysis

How Lawyers May Sue The Trump Administration … Again

By Cara Bayles

During the last Trump administration, BigLaw firms challenged White House policies, focusing on immigration, environmental regulations and healthcare. This time around, attorneys could rely on old tools, and some new tactics, to stall the executive branch.

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Biden Exceeds Trump's Record On Judges By One

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed on Friday the last two judicial nominations from President Joe Biden, making his total of lifetime judicial appointments 235, just one over President Donald Trump's 234.

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High Court Bar's Future: Williams & Connolly's Sarah Harris

By Katie Buehler

Sarah M. Harris of Williams & Connolly LLP never planned on being a U.S. Supreme Court advocate, or even an appellate one. She stumbled upon that career path after realizing her initial goal of becoming a national security or government lawyer wasn't the right fit.

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No, Microsoft Isn't Driving DOJ's Google Antitrust Suit: Judge

By Bryan Koenig

A D.C. federal judge pushed back Friday on Google's efforts to paint Microsoft as the true plaintiff in the Justice Department's search monopolization lawsuit, casting doubt during a hearing that Google should get even more information about Microsoft's relationship with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

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Feature

Litigator On The Roof: The Acting, Singing Mass. Solicitor

By Chris Villani

The top appellate lawyer in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General will be ringing in the new year by performing a comical cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, the latest show in a lengthy side career in music.

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Hagens Berman Settles Suit Over Effexor Deal Atty Fees

By Bryan Koenig

A pharmaceutical reseller's in-house counsel and founder moved Friday to drop a Mississippi federal court breach of contract suit accusing Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP of stiffing him on his share of a $13 million attorney fees award from an antitrust class settlement, citing a resolution to the dispute.

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Q&A

A Judge Reflects: West Wing Call, 'Alford Plea?' Early Exit

By Hayley Fowler

When Chief Judge Louis A. Bledsoe III of the North Carolina Business Court hangs up his robes for the last time on Dec. 31, he'll leave behind a white-hot docket of high-profile cases and a profusion of opinions that helped mold the court into a tribunal fit to rival Delaware's Court of Chancery.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Andrea Keckley

This week's Legal Lions leader comes from the public sector, as federal prosecutors secured a $650 million settlement from McKinsey & Co. to resolve a lawsuit over the consulting giant's role in Purdue Pharma's promotion of OxyContin.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen the University of Southampton sue a drone-maker over the rights to an uncrewed aircraft patent, Importers Service Corp. and its subsidiary ISC Europe take action against a former director who allegedly owes the company over £1.1 million ($1.4 million), and DAC Beachcroft face a fraud claim by a "prolific litigant." 

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Addleshaw Goddard

Ahmad Zavitsanos

Akerman LLP

Alston & Bird

American Center for Law & Justice Inc.

Amster Rothstein

ArentFox Schiff LLP

Armstrong Teasdale

Arnold & Porter

Barrett Law Group

Bartko LLP

Benesch

Blacks Solicitors

Brito PLLC

CMS Cameron McKenna

Charles Russell Speechlys

Choate Hall

Coblentz Patch

Covington & Burling

Cowan Liebowitz

Cravath Swaine

DAC Beachcroft

Davis Wright Tremaine

Dechert LLP

Evans Fears

Faegre Drinker

Fenchurch Law

Fieldfisher

Finnegan

Fisch Sigler

Fisher & Phillips

Foley & Lardner

Forsters LLP

Fried Frank

Gatehouse Chambers

Gibbons PC

Gibson Dunn

Glancy Prongay

Glenn Agre

Goodwin Procter

Gowling WLG

Gunster Yoakley

Gupta Wessler

Hadsell Stormer

Hagens Berman

Halunen Law

Haynes & Boone

Hogan Lovells

Holman Fenwick

Holwell Shuster

Hueston Hennigan

Hugh James

Irell & Manella

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

K&L Gates

Keker Van Nest & Peters

Kim & Chang

Kirkland & Ellis

Klarquist Sparkman

Kobre & Kim

Kutak Rock

Latham & Watkins

Law Office of Rajeh A. Saadeh

Lerner David

Mayer Brown

McDonald Hopkins

Milbank LLP

Morgan & Morgan

Morgan Lewis

Morris Nichols

Morrison Foerster

Nabarro LLP

Norton Rose

O'Melveny & Myers

Oppenheim & Zebrak

Orrick Herrington

Patterson Belknap

Paul Hastings

Paul Weiss

Paynter Law Firm

Perkins Coie

Pollack Solomon

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Reynolds Porter

Robinson Bradshaw

Ropes & Gray

Ross Aronstam

Roythornes Solicitors

Sanford Heisler

Seyfarth Shaw

Sidley Austin

Skadden Arps

Smith Katzenstein

Spector Constant & Williams

Stranch Jennings

Sullivan & Cromwell

TLT LLP

Trenk Isabel

Trowers & Hamlins

Tucker Ellis

Vartabedian Hester

Ward Hadaway

Weil Gotshal

White & Case

Wiley Rein

Wilkinson Stekloff

Williams & Connolly

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

Wilson Sonsini

Winston & Strawn

Womble Bond

Young Conaway

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ARM Holdings PLC

AT&T Inc.

Altria Group Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Civil Liberties Union

American Constitution Society

American Intellectual Property Law Association

Anthropic PBC

Appian Corp.

Apple Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

AstraZeneca PLC

Atlantic Coast Conference

BNP Paribas SA

Beazley PLC

Boy Scouts of America

British American Tobacco PLC

CLS Bank International

Care.com Inc.

Cincinnati Financial Corp.

Concord Music Group Inc.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Duke Energy Corp.

Essity AB

Farmers Insurance Group Inc.

Federalist Society

Fresenius Kabi AG

Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA

GP Global

Google LLC

Gulf Petrochem FZC

HP Inc.

Heron Therapeutics Inc.

Hytera

Intel Corp.

JUUL Labs Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

Judicial Watch Inc.

LVMH Moet Hennessy

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings

Lambda Legal Defense & Educational Fund

Lawyers for Civil Justice

LinkedIn Corp.

Major Lindsey & Africa LLC

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

Meadow

Micron Technology Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Motorola Solutions Inc.

Mozilla Corp.

NVIDIA Corp.

Natera Inc.

Natixis SA

Netlist Inc.

New Civil Liberties Alliance

New Jersey State Bar Association

Our Children's Trust

Pegasystems Inc.

PepsiCo Inc.

Pew Research Center

Pfizer Inc.

Phillips 66

Princeton University

Purdue Pharma LP

QUALCOMM Inc.

ROC Nation LLC

Reynolds American Inc.

Ryan LLC

SAP AG

Saint-Gobain SA

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

SoftBank Group Corp.

Spotify Technology SA

Starr International Co. Inc.

Teradata Corp.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

The New York Times Co.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC

The Walt Disney Co.

TikTok Inc.

TransUnion LLC

Twitter Inc.

United Steelworkers

UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Valero Energy Corp.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Walmart Inc.

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Washington Legal Foundation

Wells Fargo & Co.

Western Digital Corp.

Western Environmental Law Center

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Central Intelligence Agency

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Companies House

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Georgia Court of Appeals

Internal Revenue Service

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Ohio Supreme Court

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

The Crown Prosecution Service

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court

US Office of Management and Budget